CurrentIssues Facing Organizations
CurrentIssues Facing Organizations
Accordingto Quinn et al. (2000), internal and external communication is verycrucial when it comes to the operation and smooth running ofbusinesses as well as protecting the organizational image. When it isnot conducted in the right way or using proper channels, significantissues may arise, thus affecting the operation of a business or evendestroying its image externally. The management should, therefore, bein control of the communication strategies in their companies.Essentially, poor communication is one of the significant challengesaffecting organizations today. Information in any institution shouldfollow the right channels to avoid unrests and confusions.
Firstof all, a poorly designed organizational structure may be one of theproblems leading to ineffective communication (Quinnet al., 2000).Thus, an institution should have a well-laid structure covering eventhe external environment for it to communicate properly in case anyprivate information leaks to the public. Additionally, culturaldifferences may be another major problem hindering effectivecommunication in any functional organization as it consists of peoplefrom diverse backgrounds or even customs. Therefore, these issuesamong others will be some of the key points, which will be discussedin this paper. First, it will introduce a particular organization andthe scandal which took place in it, and then address the problem itcaused in the enterprise. Moreover, the paper will recommend someeffective measures to be adopted to overcome such in the future aswell as the follow-up steps for an evolution of the proposedrecommendation.
Domino`sPizza Inc., which is headquartered at Domino Farms, is aninternational restaurant that majors in Pizza delivery in the UnitedStates. The company was established by Monaghan in 1960, and sincethen it has grown massively into one of the greatest pizza deliveryfranchises in the US. In 1983, it opened its first internationalstore in Winnipeg, Canada leading to massive profits (Young, 2015).Its growth enabled the establishment of many other branches all overthe world thus, by 2014 it had already expanded to 6,000 locationsinternationally in five continents. More importantly, this led to therolling out of mobile and online ordering sites. It also introducedthe Pizza Tracker, which is an online application that enables thecustomer to outlook the condition of their order.
Thecompany`s menu varies with every region in the US it serves both theItalian-American classics and other side dishes (Young,2015).However, Pizza is still the main food it majors in, and it is servedwith either a Coca-Cola or Pepsi carbonated drink. Its leadership ismade up of 11 executive vice presidents, a board of directors, andthe General Counsel. Its mission has always been to develop branchesall over the world and become the top Pizza manufacturing andsupplying company in the world.
Afew years back, Domino found itself in a great scandal: a viralemergency case. It occurred when some employees captured a videodisplaying a colleague sticking cheese on his nose and then placingit on a sandwich meant to be given to a customer (Young, 2015).Moreover, the individual was involved in other unsanitary practicesin the kitchen. The video was then uploaded to YouTube, therebyaffecting the company significantly. To make matters worse, the storyalso leaked to the social media causing great problems to theenterprise. The video immediately went viral, as a result, thecompany found itself in a massive crisis, which none had anticipated.The customers watched the video with disgust as they viewed theactions conducted in an environment, where high levels of hygieneshould be administered. Instead of cooling down the situation, thevice chairman in charge of communication completely went silent, thusgiving space to further attacks and outcries by their horrifiedcustomers who pointed out fingers at the company for refusing to takenecessary measures on the employee.
Inessence, it can be noted that the corporation lacks upward anddownward communication, whereby they should have developed a goodrelationship with their staff to avoid the reckless release ofdamaging information to the external environment (Young,2015).The active structure of effective communication in the organizationcould have saved its image from being ruined one whereby employeesshould take no action until they consult with the management. Inaddition, a downward communication strategy should be developed suchthat the employers meet with the employees, where they are remindedof what is required of them. Moreover, the management should createother forums, where they can easily interact with their employees tomake it easier for the communication to be conducted efficiently.Thus, this approach would help the employees to report any misconductin the workplace. The use of suggestion boxes should be adopted aswell as brief meetings within the organization
Insuch a scenario as that which the company found itself in, a goodplan should be put in place to curtail its effects (Klauss& Bass, 2015).First of all, the development of a loyal follow-up should beconducted before a crisis strikes. It means that any organizationshould have a social media presence to interact with the customerssuch that one can detect any unnecessary information leakage out offavor of the company. A social media group would be very crucial tofor the company always to maintain a good image in the platforms.Second, after such unintended information is leaked to the customers,the first response should be released unlike the Domino’s who onlyresponded internally instead of dealing with the issue of theexternal environment to counter the attacks and the cries from thecustomers. If they had immediately responded, for example, by stating"we are conscious of the problem, we are solving it,“ it wouldhave reduced the impact of the crisis (Klauss& Bass, 2015, n.p).
Thethird measure it should have taken was to get online and talk to thecustomers apologetically mentioning that they are taking everynecessary action to correct the matter. On the other hand, themanagement should release an official statement concerning the matterthat took place in the organization, explaining the actual events andthe actions that have been adopted to avoid such a mistake in future.Furthermore, they should show by example how serious they are inhandling the matter. Thus, a response video by the CEO of the companyshould be released on the social media.
Ateam of ten individual should further be formed to be in charge ofthe communication department: its head would be the vice chairmanfollowed by the other junior supervisors. Each person would be givena responsibility to undertake in the organization. More specifically,the vice president should ensure that the committee members reportdirectly to him or her. The ten individuals would be divided acrossvarious sub-departments for instance, some will be moved to thesocial media communication agency whose function is to guard anycritical information of the company against leaking to the public.The committee would represent the organization in the social mediareporting to the team management directly. The second departmentwould be the internal communication unit whose function would beensuring the right communication media is adopted, such as mailing,suggestion boxes, and memos. It will be ensuring efficient flow ofinformation by organizing brief meetings between the management andthe employees. The section would act as a bridge between themanagement and the employees such that if individual employees arenot comfortable to report anything to the management, they wouldinteract with them and pass the information to them. The third wouldbe the communication supervisory department its work would bemonitoring the external and the internal communication unit to ensureit operates efficiently.
Ifthe Domino`s Pizza Company would have developed this strategy, itcould have stopped its image from being destroyed (Klauss& Bass, 2015).Such starts with effective communication inside the organization.Thus, this would have made the employees to refrain from posting thevideo since the brief meetings would have reminded them of what theyshould not do inside the organization and the benefits of protectingits image. Additionally, if such unhygienic behaviors inside thekitchen would have been reported and right measures employed toprevent them, then the crisis would have not occurred. Therefore,effective communication is very significant in any organization. Itis ideal to have proper communication channels in place right fromthe top management to the low-level workers. The administrationshould be attentive to every communication emanating from employees,be it unofficial, and take necessary measures.
Insummary, in case any damaging information leaks to the social media,any organization should have a representative in the system to takethe appropriate actions before it causes great harm, like in the caseof the Domino`s company (Klauss& Bass, 2015).Organizations should pay attention to the communication strategiessuch that every department is made to be in charge of the disclosurein the business both internal and external. Essentially, bigcompanies should not risk their image to the public due to ignoranceto an efficient communication network. Employers should possess thehuman skills to enable them to interact with the employees to allowthem to acquire information on their problems and, in turn, addressthem during meetings.
References
Young,C. (2015). ACase Study of Domino’s Pizza’s Crisis Communication Strategies.Ithaca College.
Klauss,R., & Bass, B. M. (2015). Interpersonalcommunication in organizations.New York, NY: Academic Press.
Quinn,R. E., O`Neill, R. M., & Clair, L. S. (2000). Pressingproblems in modern organizations (that keep us up at night):Transforming agendas for research and practice.New York, NY: American Management Association.